This Sunday is Palm Sunday. We’ll celebrate with a Palm Procession, Eucharist and the dramatic reading of the Passion Gospel. At 8 am we’ll gather in front of the Church. At 10 am we’ll gather in front of the Parish House (main entrance) and be led in procession by bagpipes. Come and start Holy Week!

Most of the announcements below are about services and events in Holy Week – but some are about events in Easter season and beyond. Please do take a look at them and participate as fully as you can.

Why do we celebrate Holy Week?Why not go right from Palm Sunday to Easter? Holy Week is the pivot and center of the whole Christian year.As we walk with Jesus through these days, we share with him the last week of his earthly life. We experience once again the profound depths of God’s love for us – even in the face of human weakness, betrayal and sin. At the same time, we make this journey together as a community, and we are renewed as the Body of Christ as we celebrate the new life of Resurrection upon which our faith is based. Holy Week centers us, grounds us, connects us to Jesus in a way that nothing else does.I hope and pray that your participation will bring you strength, truth, hope and joy. ~ Vicki+

·Cook Book Project – in Stewardship·Emergency Food Bags – in Helping Hands·Quiet Evening & Compline tonight – in Worship·Newspaper & Web Articles – in All Saints’ in the News·Upcoming Services and Events – Holy Week·Argyle Fish & Chips – in Stewardship+ + + + + + + + +HOLY WEEK Maundy Thursday, March 24Maundy Thursday Agapé Meal, at 6 pm Come for a pot-luck meal before our Maundy Thursday worship. Agapé is the Greek word for God’s love – and the way we share it in community. There will be some Middle Eastern-themed foods as part of the menu, but feel free to bring whatever you like, except dessert which will not be part of the meal.Sign up on the sheet in the Narthex to let us know what part of the meal you can bring and how many people will be attending. Please note: We will not have the regular Thursday 7 am Eucharist.

7:30 pm Maundy Thursday Eucharist & Foot Washing- an ancient, traditional part of the liturgy – a sign of our serving one another in humility as part of our community life. You can choose whether or not to have your feet washed. You’ll remove a single shoe and sock, have water poured over your foot and dried with a towel, and then you’ll wash the foot of the person who comes after you. During the foot washing, there will be congregational singing.

Prayer Watch – Jesus asks us to keep watch with him in our own Garden of Gethsemane (Altar of Repose) on Maundy Thursday night.Please sign up for a 30-minute time slot (between 8:30 pm and midnight) of personal prayer and meditation as we keep watch, making sure that there is always someone in the Church during that time. Please sign up on the sheet in the Narthex.

Good Friday, March 25Stations of the Cross for Kids and Adults at 12 noon – this interactive service is 45 minutes long, has plenty of movement and things to say, sing, touch, and do. This is a good way to introduce your children to Good Friday. It will be led by the youth of our Confirmation class.

Good Friday Liturgy, 7:30 pm – Piano and violin music for meditation, candle light veneration and prayer before the Cross, simple hymns and the reading of Christ’s Passion story.

Holy Saturday/ Easter Eve, March 26Holy Saturday Kids’ Service, Easter Egg Hunt and Ribbon Banner Making, 10 amWe need donations of candy for the eggs, volunteers to hide the eggs, and provide refreshments; and older kids and adults to make the banners and hang them on the lamp posts. Please sign your kids up on the sheet in the Narthex and let us know how you can help. Thanks.

The Great Vigil of Easter, 7:30 pm – We start with the new fire in the Memorial Garden,process into the church by candle light, hear and sing the story of our salvation, renew our baptismal vows, and celebrate the first Eucharist of Easter. Join us for this wonderful and inspiring service.

The First Party of Easterfollows the Easter Vigil, right in the Narthex. We need some simple refreshments to continue the best service of the year! Take a look at the sign-up sheet for what we need.

CHRISTIAN FORMATIONScripture Memory Project –this Sunday, March 20 (Palm Sunday) please bring a printed copy of the passage you have been memorizing and place it in the collection plate; you don’t need to have your name on it. We’ll put all the passages into a booklet to distribute to the parish for inspiration and encouragement.

Bible Study meets on Wed. 3/23/2016, 10:15-11:30 am in the Rath House. We’ll discuss Lydia, and the Fortune-Telling Slave Girl in Bible Women: All Their Words and Why They Matter.This will finish our book, and we’ll choose a new topic. We’ll also have a light pot-luck lunch. Please join us if you can. Questions? Speak to Mother Vicki.

Book Group meets again on Wednesday, April 20 at 7:30 pm in the Rath House. The book for discussion this month will be Those Who Save Us, by Jenna Blum. Come for a fun evening of conversation and fellowship.

WORSHIPQuiet Evening ~ Praying in the Celtic Tradition, March 17Tonight, St. Patrick’s Day, come and learn about the style of prayer from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the north of England. Led by Mother Vicki. If you are planning on coming for the workshop, please RSVP; thanks. 8:15 pm Spiritual Practice 8:30 pm Quiet Candlelight Prayer & Meditation 9:00 pm Compline, sung by the Choir

Next All God’s Children Service for kids with special needs and their families: March 20 at 12 noon. A simple, relaxed service 30 mins. long, optional Communion.Please pass this on to folks who need it. For more information speak to Mother Vicki.

Easter Flower Memorials – there is still time to submit names to be included in the Easter Flower Memorials. We need them by Monday.

HELPING HANDSEmergency Food Assistance (EFA) Bags – aka Take Out meal bags – for the homeless will be assembled during coffee hour this Sunday, March 20. Please come and help if you can. Speak to Afsaneh Thursfield for more information.

ALL SAINTS’ IN THE NEWSDid You Seethe special history supplement in the Echoes-Sentinel for Long Hill Township’s 150th Anniversary? It features many good and interesting articles about the area’s history, including a full page article on the history of All Saints’ and many wonderful old photos! Jen Ward, our contact person at the paper who was responsible for putting the supplement together, has given us 100 copies of the supplement to distribute. Pick up a copy at church this Sunday!

‘Joining God in the Neighborhood’ Article on the Diocesan Website. As we learn more about how to listen to God – through Scripture, through one another, and through our neighbors – so that we can see, hear, and join in with what God is doing in our communities, a small group of All Saints’ parishioners are trying out some experiments about how to build relationships with people and groups in own neighborhoods. So are other parishes in our diocese. From time-to-time the different parish teams meet together to discuss their progress. Take a look at this article (with great photos of some All Saints’ folks!) from the Going Local diocesan meeting on 3/5: http://www.dioceseofnewark.org/content/dispatches-going-local-journey.

STEWARDSHIPCook Book Call for Recipes - we are creating an All Saints’ cook book filled with favorite recipes from our fab ulous parish cooks! We also plan to request recipes from some popular local restaurants. Our goal is to be able to sell the resulting cook book at our Rummage Sale. Please send your favorite recipes (and a photo of the finished project, if possible) via e-mail to Nancy Mink by 5/15: niminkart@gmail.com. Handwritten recipes also welcome. Thank you! Your Cook Book Committee,Nancy Mink, Janice Lettieri, Carol Berry, Bonnie McGrath